More than 100 volunteers, based at a Braidwood showground camp, have been working to repair fences destroyed by bushfires on more than 50 properties whose owners have registered for help.
The camp, organised by charity BlazeAid, which uses volunteer help to rebuild farm fences after fires, opened on Wednesday last week and is expected to run for more than a month.
Volunteers, with varying levels of experience, have worked in teams, which have so far restored about 4 kilometres of fencing.
Camp co-ordinator Dennis McGrath said BlazeAid relied on donations to buy material locally, helping out farmers and local economies after they had been hit by fires.
"I would have had 200 calls from people in the last week who want to donate," he said.
Mr McGrath said the camp should bring between $500,000 and $1 million into Braidwood's economy, which had suffered from drought and the closure of the fire-damaged Kings Highway.
He said farmers had appreciated the work and word was getting around to more property owners that help was available.
"They're just so appreciative we're here, because they understand that now that the fire trucks are gone, there's nothing. They've got no one, they've got no one to help them," Mr McGrath said.
"We've had plenty in here who are just - the wives are crying, 'What do we do? How do we do it? You're going to do that for nothing?'"
He said it was important for property owners to register with the camp organisers so resources could be best directed to where they were needed.
Mr McGrath said the Queanbeyan-Palerang Council had been supportive and accommodating of the BlazeAid camp, which meant volunteers could focus on the task at hand. "We don't build houses or things like that but we do fence line. We did a chook pen this week. I know that sounds stupid, but we did," he told the Sunday Canberra Times.
Maps of fire-affected properties had been provided by the ACT Surveyor-General and the local council, which helped plan fencing tasks, Mr McGrath said.
Trade in Braidwood has picked up after the reopening of the Kings Highway, and Mr McGrath said volunteers had helped lift the spirits in the community.
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Governor-General David Hurley visited the camp on Monday, and community groups had stepped in to prepare food for volunteers.
Mr McGrath said the Braidwood camp was nearly full for the next few weeks, but organisers would be looking for volunteers who could commit for a week at a time to join restoration efforts in February.
He expected the number of properties registered for help in the region would grow to 200 as the camp worked through more damaged areas, including Nelligen and Sassafras.
BlazeAid co-founder Rhonda Butler said 14 camps had been set up in response to bushfires this season, with another six expected across Victoria and southern NSW.
